Protective Custody
by Alania Black
Summary: 25 OCAUHPSM: LMNL. Neville is asked to take a pregnant Lucius Malfoy into protective custody until the child is born.


This is part 25of the OFFICIAL CHIBI ALANIA UNWRITTEN HARRY POTTER SLASH MONTH!

_This month, from Monday July 11th 2005 until Tuesday August 9th 2005, I am having an Unwritten Harry Potter Slash Month - I have found 30 different Harry Potter slash couples that have 3 or less fics written about them in and each day, I will post a one-shot fic about that couple._

_1 month: 30 days: 30 couples: 30 fics: 1 author._

_Now, for the fun part! On the 31st August, one person who has shown me support and encouragement will find a lovely little email in their inbox offering them a fantastic prize for their support._

_So, review (leave email addresses if you haven't logged in, please), give me support and ye shall receive threefold!_

And today we have Mr. Neville Longbottom and Mr. Lucius Malfoy.

So, on with the fic!

WARNINGS: Mpreg, slash, AU, character death.

DISCLAIMER: Hah! You will never see me utter those evil, dreaded words of disclaimation again! Wait, is disclamation a word? It means something along the lines of "I own this not", right? Wait - I said it! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

SUMMARY: #25; OCAUHPSM: LM/NL. Neville is asked to take a pregnant Lucius Malfoy into protective custody until the child is born.

NOTE: Dumbledore's dead, he died from an illness in their Seventh Year. This is set when they are 24. Ron and Hermione are married and have a baby and suchlikes. Voldemrt's still alive, but he's really weak and not doing much, Sirius and Remus are alive and together, Severus is alive. Draco and Harry are together. Harry is the new Minister for Magic (they elect the Minister on who they thinnk can deal with them best in that time, regardless of age.). Neville's gran is dead and Neville inherited everything. He lives in Longbottom Mansion and uses the back garden as his plant nursery for now, while he grows and looks after the plants. He's intending to open a store selling the plants and components when the plants are ready. Lucius is 43 and has given himself up to the Ministry under the condition that they look after him and his child.

On another note, after having read the reviews for it (even the nice ones) I've decided that "Choices" is everyone's least favourite so far. Huh, it's one of my favurites, actually, because it's all about the "will I, won't I" argument and thenthere's the whole acceptance of himself bit at the end... but maybe that's just a personal thing. Ah well. If I decide to be really nice and I don't suffer Writer's Breakdown (the symptoms of which include headaches, nausea, exhaustion, Carpol Tunnel Syndrome and eventual Writer's Block) I may write a better one for that pairing later.

Protective Custody.

When Harry told Neville that Lucius Malfoy was in a holding cell at the Ministry because he was three months pregnant, Neville's first reaction was to laugh. When Harry then told him that _he_ was the one who would be looking after him for the next six months, Neville had been torn between laughing, crying and fainting. Eventually he decided that the less conscious he was the better.

He didn't really believe it until two of the top Aurors knocked on his door and came in, Lucius Malfoy chained between the two of them. Malfoy looked ragged and exhausted, his hair lank and dirty and his cheeks hollowed. He obviously hadn't slept or eaten in the last few days, or even weeks. Despite this, his torn robes did nothing to hide his blossoming bump. It wasn't really big yet, but on Malfoy's small frame it was obvious.

He allowed Malfoy to take a seat in his living room, while the Aurors strengthened the wards around the Manor and placed up wards preventing Malfoy from leaving. Neville watched it all with a numb detachment, still remembering Harry's words. _You're the only one I trust and you're at home all the time. That's still my baby brother or sister-in-law in there._ Neville found himself more and more inclined to believe that it was his convenience for guard duty rather than Harry's trust in him that led to Malfoy being here. Ever since he'd become the Minister for Magic, Harry had become much more confident, but he'd also become less trusting. It was a trade off that was more than worth it in his opinion - Harry wasn't afraid of upsetting the public and he was building Wizarding Britain into a much better place in the few months he'd been in office.

Once the Aurors had left, Neville led Malfoy through a few rooms to the back of the house.

"I decided you should sleep down here, it'll be easier for you once you're bigger not having to deal with all those stairs." Neville led Malfoy into a small but very nice guest bedroom and left him to get washed and changed. The room - all done in light colours - had an en suite bathroom attached which had been specifically designed to help a pregnant person wash and to look after a baby in.

Neville made them a small, light meal and knocked on Malfoy's bedroom door. When he didn't get an answer, Neville opened the door, only to find that Malfoy was curled protectively around his baby and sleeping in the bed. Neville tucked him in and smiled at the peaceful blonde. He was clean now, but still looked exhausted. Neville would rectify that very soon.

When Lucius woke up, it was to a bright bean of sunlight directly into his eyes. He groaned and covered his eyes with his hand, before getting up and rushing into the adjoining bathroom. He had hoped to escape this torture, but apparently it was just worse in men.

He brushed his teeth and took another shower, still feeling dirty after spending all that time in the holding cell. He had been petrified when he went to them that they would force him to abort the baby, but he knew that he couldn't stay with Voldemort while he was pregnant. If the bastard didn't kill them both outright, he'd force him through the birth and destroy his baby. He couldn't do that - his first son had barely made it through having a Death Eater for a father (he wasn't sure he was altogether happy that Draco had married Harry, but at least his son had married into power.) and he wasn't about to put his second baby through that.

Longbottom was already awake when Lucius made it through to the dining area. He was surprised - and more than a little grateful - to find that Longbottom had gone out of his way to make sure breakfast was as nutritional as possible without making him want to throw up again. He sat across from him, marvelling at the feel of nice, new robes and the taste of real food that wasn't three or four days old.

"I was thinking, while you're here you can help me in the nursery. I'll do all the work; I was just hoping you could look after the paperwork." Longbottom suddenly said. Lucius frowned at him.

"A nursery? Like little children?" Neville snorted. Malfoy was squeamish about children? That was funny.

"No, a nursery like plants. I have a plant nursery in the back garden. I need you to write up the list of the seeds I have in storage, and then the oils and dried components and so on." Neville was pleasantly surprised when Malfoy agreed, and he was soon gifted with a studious, hard working assistant.

They didn't talk much; they just worked in companionable silence. Neville was pleased to discover that Malfoy had filled out and looked a lot better and well rested. He also noted that Malfoy was gaining weight properly and the baby was developing nicely. They had a Medi-Wizard come and check on Malfoy and the baby every week to ensure the baby was alright.

It was in Malfoy's fourth month that the baby started moving. They had been sitting on the couch relaxing after dinner when Malfoy suddenly jerked and gasped, one hand pressing against his distended abdomen. Neville glanced worriedly at him, when Malfoy grasped one of his hands and pressed it against his bump as well. Neville felt a tiny flutter under his hand and he smiled brightly.

"It's kicking!" Malfoy nodded.

"I've been feeling it move a little over the last few days, but that's the first time it's kicked me properly." Neville smiled, but a thought occurred to him.

"Malfoy... Lucius, I've wondered, what about the other father?"

"What about him?" Lucius asked. Neville noticed a slight tension.

"It's not really any of my business, I know, but I was just thinking... This is something you should be sharing with the baby's father. Does he know you're pregnant? If you want to, we can have him brought here for you. It's just a thought." Lucius smiled internally. The boy was really quite sensitive and thoughtful.

"No, I don't want him brought here. And no, he doesn't know I'm pregnant, and he can never know it is his child, certainly not until You-Know-Who is defeated and even then I'm not sure he should know. He's another Death Eater, and if he was discovered to be the father, he would be killed as well, and he's far too important for that. Besides, it was a one-night stand, the day after Narcissa died. Neither of us love each other, and he'd never be able to love this child the way it should be. I don't want this child raised in the same way Draco was, by some Death Eater who's more interested in turning it into a mirror image of them that raising his child properly.

The day Draco turned his back on me and went to Harry was the proudest I had ever been of him. I realised on that day that he was his own person, and that he was a good one at that. I just wish I'd seen it earlier, or been able to make amends." Neville found his heart melting at the regretful tone in Lucius' voice.

"Once the baby is born, you can see him and try. He loves you, you know, and knowing you love him and are proud of him... It's probably the one thing he wants most in this world." Lucius could hear the forlorn tone in Neville's voice and knew he was talking from experience.

"Your parents did love you, Neville."

"I know, it's just... Hard, going there and being with them and knowing that they have no idea who I am. My parents died twenty three years ago. The people I see each week are just shadows of them."

They talked more after that, Lucius' hormones and desire to keep Neville happy with him making him more open and talkative than he'd ever been in his life. They discussed so many different things over the few months they were together.

"So, do you want another boy or a girl this time?" Neville asked. Lucius shrugged, leaning against the couch with one hand pressed against him and feeling the baby kick. He rubbed it a little.

"As long as it's healthy, I couldn't really care less. I have my son and heir, I'm just happy I have another child."

: :

"What are you going to call it?"

"If it's a boy I want to call him Ethan. I was thinking of giving him Frederick as a middle name."

"I have an uncle called Frederick." Lucius had smiled at him then, a small, indecipherable smile.

"I know. My father's name was Frederick as well. If I have a girl, I was thinking of Elizabeth Maria."

: :

"What are you going to do with it? I mean, once the baby is born, won't you have to have your trial and such."

"I'll be putting it into foster care. If I can regain custody once the trial is over, then I will, but I don't want it to be messed about." Neville nodded, recognising the despair in Lucius' eyes.

"You don't want to."

"No, but I won't evade punishment just because I suddenly have another child. Especially when the child has another father, although no one knows who the other father is. There's actually a potion out there, that if fed to the child in the first hour of life, it'll change its other parentage to the person. It's like a Polyjuice Potion."

: :

Lucius moved gracefully into the sixth month of his pregnancy. Neville stayed by his side through it all, including the scans of the baby and Lucius' frequent mood swings. While this was all going on, Neville was pondering the Paternus potion. He'd looked it up and studied it carefully. It was irreversible and all paternity tests would corroborate the "father's" paternity. The potion completely replaced the original father's DNA, effectively turning the new father into the child's biological parent. Neville also knew he could make the potion - he even had most of the ingredients already. He made the potion in secret, although he didn't believe it would ever be used. It was an emergency backup plan. However, his belief that it wouldn't be used didn't prevent him dreaming of the perfect way to ask Lucius if he could use it.

"Lucius? I was wondering... You know that potion you were telling me about, the one that changes a child's paternity. Would... Would you let the baby take it? Would you let me be its father? No, no that's all wrong. I need to stop stuttering. Okay. Lucius, I was wondering if you would let the baby take the Paternus potion and allow me to be its father. Better. Now I just have to approach Lucius with it." Neville groaned and buried his head in his hands. He couldn't do this! It was a silly dream; Lucius would probably hex him to the moon and back for simply suggesting it.

"One last time. Lucius, I was wondering if you would allow the baby to take the Paternus potion and allow me to be the father. And hey, while we're at it, why don't we just get married? I'm sure I can get a Ministry official in here tomorrow to perform the binding, which would give me complete uncontested custody over the baby if the potion goes wrong or they decided to take it into custody anyway. And, since we're having a baby together, I was wondering if you would allow me to take you to bed because, believe it or not, I'm completely head-over-heels in love with you and extremely attracted to you and I'd like to be able to shag you _before_ you give birth to my child. And, our being married means that I can't just run off with your baby while you're in Azkaban waiting for your trial because we're bonded." Neville declared sarcastically, his head once again finding its place in his hands. "Why am I doing this to myself?"

"Well, as far as proposals go, that wasn't the most romantic, but I'll accept anyway." Neville squeaked and jumped off the couch. He whirled around to find Lucius leaning in the doorway, one hand resting protectively on his tummy and an amused smile on his lips.

"No! Nonono! You weren't supposed to - Wait, you accept?" Neville's breath caught. Lucius' smile grew and he nodded.

"Yes, I accept. I think it's a fantastic idea. And," He looked down at his bump for a second, and Neville could have sworn Lucius was blushing. "I love you too."

: :

The binding ceremony was very brief. The Ministry official had to sign a contract stating that he was not allowed to go to the press or tell anyone, and that this was to be kept as discreet as possible. Once that was done, he married the two men.

Neville stared down at his wrist, where there was a green tattoo circling it like a bracelet. It was a Celtic knot tattoo and the sign of someone in the first year of marriage. Most couples chose to use a ring instead, but those who didn't had the tattoo instead. Lucius' was intertwined with a single strand of silver to show he was pregnant.

"Well, Mr. Longbottom-Malfoy, it looks like we're married." Lucius joked softly, one hand stroking the tattoo on Neville's wrist. Neville finally looked up at Lucius - his husband - and smiled as well.

"It's a bit hard to take in. It's like it's not really real, or something." He admitted. Lucius stepped closer, his bump - their baby - nestled carefully between them.

"Well, perhaps we should _make_ it real." He whispered against Neville's lips, brushing a brief kiss over them.

It was difficult, Lucius' baby bump made most positions near impossible. Neville settled quickly on them being on their sides. He slid gently into his lover, needing the intimate contact much more than the sex. The rocked slowly into each other, allowing the pleasure to build until Lucius finally came over Neville's hand. When Neville came inside Lucius, he did so with tears on his cheeks and platitudes of love spilling from his lips. He used a very gentle cleaning charm on them and fell asleep spooning his husband and still buried deep inside him. Lucius drifted off to sleep himself, feeling their baby give joyous little rolls at having its daddies together.

: :

They spent the next two months getting used to married life. They were still definitely in the "Honeymoon" period, and spent the entire time either planning for the baby or having sex. Well, not _sex_ exactly, they settled for pleasuring each other, but refrained from having sex again.

They also began building the Nursery for the baby. The Nursery was in the room next to Neville's, although there was a bassinette ready to go in Neville's room for the first few months of the baby's life. Lucius had tried to get Neville to paint the Nursery green, but Neville had refused. Instead it had been done in whites and silvers, and gave the room a "sleeping in the clouds" feel, which satisfied both parties. There was a cot, a small wardrobe and a changing table from the same range. There was also a matching rocking chair. The wardrobe had already been filled with clothes for the first few months, little white robes and vests and such. There was even a small sink in the corner where the baby could be washed.

They had fun with the room. Lucius had stood in the middle giving Neville directions, while Neville painted, charmed, fluffed and moved the things around. Neville remembered one particularly fun afternoon when, in a fit of exhausted annoyance, he'd flicked silver paint at Lucius. It had sparked an hour long paint fight (luckily the only thing that the paint landed on was the plastic on the floor) after which Lucius had demanded Neville wash him. Very fun, indeed.

However, Neville detected a shadow of sadness over Lucius, no matter what he did. He knew why his husband was miserable; Draco had known he was living with Neville for the last five months and he hadn't come to see him even once. No one had, actually, except the Medi-Wizard and the Ministry official. Neville and Lucius had somehow survived the last five months in near-isolation. Neville was going to do something about it, however.

"Harry, can I come in?" Harry stepped aside and allowed Neville into the house. He led Neville into the living room, where Draco was sitting as well.

"Neville, is there anything we can do for you?" Harry asked, smiling cheerfully, if a little guardedly, at Neville. Neville took a deep breath and nodded.

"I was wondering if you two would come over for dinner tomorrow." He asked. He saw the flash of anger over Draco's eyes, but surprisingly there was hope and happiness in Harry's.

"Yes, that would be wonderful. We have something to tell you, anyway. It's a shame you've had to miss the last few meetings." Of course, they held "Order Meetings" every month, which consisted of those close to Harry who he trusted - those in the Order of the Phoenix. The Weasleys, the Blacks (Harry had removed the ban on Werewolf marriages less than two days after he came into office and his Godfathers had been the first to marry), Snape, Seamus and Dean, a few other school friends who had joined the second DA, Luna and several Aurors who had worked with Harry and Ron before Harry became Minister. Those outside the Order didn't even know it existed, and the Order were those trusted with the important tasks. Like housing potentially dangerous pregnant Death Eaters.

Draco had seemed furious with Harry, but he stayed silent and agreed to come. Neville sat for a while and talked to them. Eventually he decided he should be getting home and left, but not before making Draco promise again that he would come.

: :

The dinner arrived far too quickly for Neville's tastes. He "forgot" to tell Lucius that Draco would be coming, and his husband didn't know anything about it until Neville helped him to sit at the table and he saw the two extra seats.

"We're having guests?" He asked, genuinely surprised.

"You didn't tell him we were coming?" Came a sneering voice behind him. Neville heard Lucius gasp, and saw the hope spread across his face.

"I must have forgotten. Come, sit." Neville indicated the seats for Draco and Harry, and served them their meals. Harry looked at it, surprised.

"You cooked this." Neville blushed and nodded. Draco poked dubiously at it.

"Draco! Be polite, Neville's a fantastic cook."

"I'm sorry if I don't particularly trust the man who spent six years blowing up simple potions." Draco sneered back. Neville shrugged.

"I don't blame you. When my Gran insisted I learned to cook in my Fourth Year, I thought she was insane. Then I did start to cook. I think it was fear, personally. I re-took my Potions Owl, and then I did my NEWT through Summerhill's evening classes programme and got an O on both." Draco choked.

"You did _what_? How!"

"Well, the ingredients of potions are either plants or something else, and I know plants like the back of my hand. When I was cooking, without someone hovering over my shoulder and petrifying the hell out of me, I realised I could do it brilliantly. The thought that if I can cook, and I know the properties of my plants, then why couldn't I do potions? I passed all my other classes with flying colours when I had Harry and Hermione tutoring me. I realised that it was Snape who was holding me back, so I took the evening classes, made sure I was in a bright room and my teacher wouldn't petrify the hell out of me and I got my grades."

"Wow, you really tried hard for this."

"I wanted to prove them wrong, all those people who told me I was a bumbling idiot." Draco looked down at his half-eaten meal, feeling a tiny bubble of shame for the way he'd treated Neville. Neville finished his glass of wine and began poring more for himself. He tilted the bottle towards Harry and Draco. "Would you like some more wine?" Harry nodded and Neville topped his glass up. He turned to Draco, who was staring dubiously at his untouched glass.

"If you think any more will fit." He joked. They all found laughter breaking free, the tension in the room breaking. Harry and Neville began to talk properly, Neville enthusiastically telling Harry about his Nursery. Draco and Lucius watched their other halves with affection and love in their eyes. Lucius was distracted, however, when he noticed his son pick up a glass of water and drink it. His wine still lay untouched. And, now that he thought about it, Draco had seemed a little off today, and he could have sworn he saw his son wince earlier. And he'd always hated onions before - he wouldn't have eaten them if you'd paid him. Or he might, but the money would have been given to one of his lackeys to pay them to beat you up, depending on what age you'd caught him at. He'd never worn his robes so loose before, either...

"You're pregnant." He stated. Harry, Draco and Neville all turned and looked at him in shock, but his attention was focused solely on Draco. Draco finally looked away from his father, a blush gracing his cheeks. Lucius smiled brilliantly. "I'm going to be a Grandfather?" he asked in an awed voice. Draco's head shot up - obviously he'd expected some sort of recrimination.

"Yeah. We... We were going to tell you later." Draco rasped.

"I figured that's why you came, so you could tell him in person. That's why I didn't say anything." Neville told them unconcernedly.

"You knew?" Harry asked Neville. Neville raised an eyebrow in a scarily Malfoy way.

"I've been living with Lucius for the last five months. I'd recognise a pregnant man from twenty feet." He drawled. Lucius snorted and raised his glass to his husband. Neville clinked his glass against Lucius.

"So how far are you?" Lucius asked.

"About three months. My back is killing me and I feel sick all the time, it's awful."

"Yeah, but at least you don't get the headaches. They're a killer, really." Lucius answered. Harry and Neville grinned victoriously at each other as father and son finally found something to bond over.

: :

Three hours later Harry decided to take his sleepy husband home. He hugged Neville before he followed Draco through the Floo.

"Thank you so much for doing this for them." He whispered in Neville's ear before he released him and left. Neville then went and sat on the couch, pulling his tired husband to rest against him.

"When do you think we should tell them we had a clandestine wedding and we're now married?" Lucius mumbled against his chest. Neville rumbled in laughter.

"How's about when we're on our deathbed?" he responded. Lucius' response was a quiet snore. Neville looked at his peaceful, finally happy husband and knew he'd done the right thing. Lucius and Draco were by no means completely healed, but they had taken the first steps.

: :

Lucius ran a hand through his hair and checked the time. He then looked at his calendar, at the date; 20th June. Lucius had some letters to write.

: :

Neville had been surprised when Lucius had asked him to sleep with him again, but he'd complied, gently opening his lover and slipping inside him. They were on their sides again and Neville rocked into him slowly, passionately, with one hand resting on his abdomen and feeling their baby moving under the skin and the other bringing Lucius to the peak of pleasure. Lucius' hand joined his and they linked together over their child as they made love. When it was over, Neville tried to pull out. Lucius gripped him tighter and pleaded with him.

"Stay in me, please, like you did before?" Neville kissed Lucius' shoulder and stayed inside him, spooning him in the same way he'd done the first time they had done this.

: :

When Neville woke up the next morning, he was stiff as a board. He was also still buried inside his husband, who was wide awake and snickering at him. Neville thrust forwards against his prostrate the best he could as a punishment, electing a low moan from Lucius. His husband obviously liked that, so Neville repeated it.

Neville washed Lucius reverently afterwards, and then he made him breakfast. Lucius had told him they would be making the finishing touches to the Nursery today, and Neville was anxious to finish it. He wasn't certain what else there was to do in there, but he trusted Lucius. His husband kissed him as he stood to put the dishes away, before going up the Nursery. Neville promised to join him in a few minutes.

When Neville arrived in the Nursery, Lucius was standing at the cot, running his hand over the soft blanket. He sighed sadly and turned to Neville.

"I love you, Neville. I need you to know that. I love you so much, and I know you'll be a wonderful father to our child. I only wish I could be there with you. You'll do well on your own though, I know you will." He moved closer to Neville, who found fear knotting in his stomach. There was something going on with his husband. "I want you to promise me you'll give the baby the potion that makes it yours. It's in the top drawer of my bedside cabinet." Neville nodded. Lucius smiled and kissed him deeply. "Good, because I don't want you to lose him. I love you both so much it hurts."

"Lucius? What's going on?" He asked. Lucius kissed him again.

"I'm in labour, Neville. I'm about to have our baby."

Everything suddenly sped up. Panic filled Neville; the Medi-Wizard wasn't coming today and Neville couldn't get Lucius out of the house. He laid Lucius out on his own bed, pulling the blankets back and giving him space. He quickly signalled the Aurors to drop the wards, but he knew it would take them half an hour to do so. He rushed to the Floo to make a firecall to St. Mungo's for a Medi-Witch when Lucius called to him.

"Neville! No, you can't." Neville whirled around.

"Lucius, you need a trained Medi-Witch here!"

"There's no time. Besides, if there's someone else in here, how are you supposed to give the baby the potion? There's time now, the contractions aren't that far apart, go and get it."

Neville rushed to Lucius' room and grabbed the potion from the drawer. He noticed an envelope beneath it - three of them, actually. The top one was addressed to him, but he had no time to ponder it or read it now, so he pushed it to the back of his mind. He grabbed a blanket from the bed and a bucket of warm water before rushing back upstairs. When he got there, Lucius was lying back, in the middle of a contraction. He'd stripped down to his shirt and his legs were spread, his feet firmly planted on the bed. A birth canal had opened at the bottom of Lucius' abdomen, only a small way above his penis. It was gushing blood and other birthing fluids. Lucius' back was propped up on a few pillows so he wasn't lying quite flat. Neville had read a few books on this subject, just to be prepared, but seeing this was a lot different.

"Neville." Lucius gasped as the contraction passed. Neville reached Lucius' side just as another one hit. "I love you, Neville!" Lucius sobbed as the contraction ripped through him.

The baby was born barely an hour later. It was a textbook birth, completely perfect, and Neville almost cried with relief. It was a boy, a little small but alive and screaming. Neville washed him and fed him the potion, watching in surprise as the dark wisps of hair on his head turned blonde and his nose became smaller. His eyes also became a bluish-grey colour instead of the dark blue they had been. He was perfect, their son.

He handed him to Lucius, who took him and leaned him against his chest, a few tears escaping his eyes.

"He's perfect, love." Lucius whispered. He kissed their son on the head. "I love you, Ethan." He looked up and kissed Neville, who had just lowered his camera. "I love you too, Neville. Get a picture of his, okay." Neville dried Lucius' face while Lucius delicately lowered his legs. Neville then charmed the camera and climbed up beside Lucius, wrapping his arms around his husband and his son before snapping the camera, immortalising the moment forever.

He took Ethan from Lucius and lay him in one of the cots before firecalling St. Mungo's to send a Medi-Witch over to check them. He hid the potion bottle on his way, so that no one would know their little secret.

When he returned to the room, Lucius was lying in bed, looking incredibly drowsy. Neville brushed a few locks of blonde hair out of his eyes and kissed him softly. "I love you, Lucius. Thank you so much for this gift."

"I love you too. You, and our son, and my son... You tell Ethan and Draco I love them, won't you." Neville nodded and kissed him on the forehead.

"You go to sleep now, Lucius. Everything's alright." Lucius nodded, and squeezed his hand.

"Love you." He slurred before succumbing to the encroaching darkness, trusting Neville to look after their son for him.

Neville felt Lucius' grip loosen and kissed his hand once more. Ethan was crying, and the Medi-Witch had arrived. He heard a soothing female voice talking to him, then it drew closer, coming towards their room. He turned to go to the door, when he noticed something glistening on the floor.

He turned to inspect it properly, and horror filled him as he recognised it as blood. A lot of blood, far too much for the birth. He called out frantically for the Medi-Witch and pulled Ethan out of her arms when she came in. She handed him two sheets of parchment as well, before rushing to Lucius' side. She quickly transported him to St. Mungo's, Neville and Ethan following. The top parchment had already been signed by the Medi-Witch showing Ethan's stats, including that he was premature, although he was still perfectly healthy and fully developed. The second sheet was a birth certificate, although it was missing the details. He borrowed a quill from the woman behind the desk and filled it out. He left the surname blank, but added Lucius and his names as the father. He stared at his hideously double-barrelled name for a moment, before carefully erasing it. He took a deep breath and wrote his name out the way he wanted it - once it was on here, it would be made official, he knew. _Neville Francis Malfoy_. He glanced back up at Ethan's name, and added the surname to it. _Ethan Frederic Malfoy._

He had finally finished the birth certificate, he just needed to have the Medi-Witch verify it and then Ethan would be an official member of the magical community. Suddenly he heard a voice from behind him.

"Mr. Longbottom?" He turned around to see the Medi-Witch from before. He smiled slightly.

"It's Malfoy, actually. How is my husband?" The Medi-Witch looked beyond startled, and her gaze was drawn to Ethan for a minute. She motioned him to sit down, and stood in front of him.

"It was a haemorrhage..."

: :

Neville found himself lying on Lucius' bed, Ethan freshly washed and fed, lying in his arms. He hadn't been able to work up the courage to return to his room, he knew Lucius' blood would still be pooled on the floor. Clutched in his hand was a letter, two unopened envelopes still sitting on the bedside table. He looked back down at the letter through tear-blurred eyes, but it wasn't necessary, Neville knew what it said anyway.

_Neville, my dear husband, if you are reading this, then I am dead and our baby is alive._

_I'm writing this today, finally. I've been trying to write this for the last few months, but it is only now, when I have precious few hours left, that I can think of what to say._

_I have a lot to explain, but first I need you to know that I love you and my children. I have written a letter to Draco, and there is one in our unborn baby's vault, which will be released when he or she comes of age. I have also written one for Harry, telling him everything he wants to know. I can only hope that you will be able to persuade them that I an trustworthy enough, but I have given what I can anyway. I want you to deliver them, as I know that, being my husband, it will be your duty to inform them I am dead. _

_I am sure you have found the potion in my pocket, but if you haven't, I will admit to this. I induced the labour, but I had no choice. I found out, when I went to get a check-up done, that I have a disease which is incurable without killing the baby. I came to a decision, almost immediately, that my child deserved life more than I deserved to continue mine. So, I swore the Medi-Witch to silence and I came to you, in the hopes that my child can be raised in a world without Death Eaters and cruelty. I had hoped that Harry and Draco would raise the baby, until you came and told me you wanted to raise it. I don't know how to thank you, you accepted me for all my short-comings, and you accepted my child and made it your own. I feel guilty for not telling you that you would be raising it alone, but I did not want my imminent death to cloud our last days._

_I don't want you to ever doubt my love for you, Neville. I know that you will, and I know that people will try to tell you that we could not have fallen in love over such a short period of time, but I want you to look into your heart and see that you love me. If you can believe that you fell in love with me - a former Death Eater - then you will know that I loved you. It is not something I expected or planned on, but I want you to know that you have made these last six months the best of my life. I only wish they had been longer, but I was blessed to have had the time we did have._

_You will be a wonderful father to our child, Neville. I only wish I could be there with you in body, but I will be watching over you from up here. When you have lived the rest of your life then you can come to me. I will be waiting for you._

_I love you._

_Lucius. XXX_

Neville brushed his tears away and pressed a kiss to Ethan's head. He needed to sleep, the newborn would probably wake him in a few hours. He would be introducing him to his big brother and the rest of his family the next day, and Neville instinctively knew it would be stressful for both of them. He only wished Lucius was here to help him through it.

"I love you too, Lucius." He whispered softly as he drifted off.

A/N: I'm not sure I'm happy leaving it here, so I think I might post a sequel later.


End file.
